Secrets of the Hidden
by nevercomemonday
Summary: Its about time you decided whose side your on." he said in anger. "I was taught-" "Zukawa I don't care about what you've ben taught! You have to decide what it is you want and where your loyalties lie."
1. The Beginning

Secrets of the Hidden

Chapter One

The Beginning

* * *

It was dawn.And just as the morning sun broke through the tree's team 7 came storming through the forest training grounds of Konoha

"C'mon sasuke can't you keep up?" Said naruto. They were racing through the woods trying to hit as many targets as they could with a kunai and so far Naruto was winning.

"Whatever". Sasuke replied as he zoomed passed Naruto while hitting a target.

"Good shot Sasuke!!" yelled Sakura in dead last.Naruto just rolled his eyes.

By the end of the race Sasuke (of course) won with Naruto in second and Sakura last. They were breathing heavily and sat down for a rest before starting the next part of today's training.

"All right team." ,Said Kakashi, "That was pretty good.now lets..." he stopped short.

"Did you hear that?" asked the team leader.

"No". Said Sakura "Hear what?"

"Shhhhhh that way." Kakashi felt a strange chakra near by so he directed the group to where he sensed it. They all jumped onto some branches to try to find the source.

They al saw a woman who looked a little younger than Kakashi washinlg her face in a nearby stream. She was tall and had her long red hair pulled up so that it cascaded down her back. Her violet eye's were full of spark and it looked as if she had noticed her onlookers. She peered into the tree's but seemed to think she was safe since she turned around to pick up her traveling bag.

Naruto tried his hardest to keep quiet but couldnt help it when his stomach gave a low grumble. He hadent eaten breakfast,he was in too much of a hurry to be on time for training.

Sasuke shot him a look as did Sakura. Kakashi just stood still watching the stranger carefully. He could tell she was a shinobi since she held a katana around her waist and had a pouch that had some waepons sticking out. The only thing she didn't have was a head band telling what village she was from.

The woman didn't seem to notice Naruto's stomach. But then it happened a seccond time. And now she definatly noticed. she turned around really quick and gave the forest a good stare down.

_Oh crap._ Naruto _She heard me._

"Who's there." Said the woman with a stern voice.

Naruto you better not blow our cover or I swear I will.. Sasuke thought. They were all getting nervous.

"Show youself!" Evryone just stayed as still as humanly possoible.

"If you dont come out right now I swear I'll burn down this entire forest!!"

_Yeah right_. thought Kakashi. But as soon as it passed thorugh his mind the woman streched out her hand as it became engufed in chakra and flames.

The whole team gaped and at Kakashi's signal they franticly jumped out of the tree and revealed themselves to the stranger.

"Thats better" She said "Now who are you and what do you want?"

We could ask you the same question." Said Sasuke

"You first The woman again streched out her flame.

"Okay okay!" Kakashi said hastily "My name is Hatake Kakashi I am the sensei of theese three. We are from Konoha the village hidden in the leaves.We were just training till we saw you."

"Now its your turn." said Naruto

"Fine." The woman said My name is Zukawa. I am on an important mission in wich I have no intention on telling you so if you excuse me I'll be on my way."

"I don't think so." said Kakasi. he stood right in front of her. "You somehow managed to infiltrate our village and tresspass on Konoha's training grounds. You don't even have a headband telling us what village your from. And that probobly means that you are a missing ninja who has comitted many crimes. So you expect us to let you go?"

She reached for her katana "Yes I do."

Kakashi pulled out a kunai "You have come with us."

"We'll see about that."

Kakashi charged and jumped over her and Zukawa spun around and swung the katana cutting him in his side. But he turned into a log "Ugh replacement!!" she screamed before she knew it she was being held down to the ground with a kunai at her neck.

"Now what do you think about cooperating now?" Kakashi asked

"Fine." She said.

As they walked into the village Kakashi told Sasuke and Sakura to find help and told Naruto to get the Hokage.Amd they obeyed. Mait Gai came to help Kakashi keep Zukawa from runnig off. They chained her hands tohether behind her back and pushed her to the Hokage's office to see what would be done with her.

Zukawa tried to struggle but was shoved every inch of the way as the Hokage called them in.

Naruto was extremely curious as to what was happening with the chick they found in the forest. So he stood outside the room and put is ear to the door so he could listen in.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" yelled Sakura.

"Be quiet Sakura. They'll find me out if you keep yelling like that."

Sakura decided she wanted to know what was happening too. So she put her ear against the door and started to listen.

"What are you two doing?" said Sasuke. "You know theyre just gonna find out."

"Sssshhhh!!" said Naruto "Not if were really quiet!"

Sasuke just stood there for a moment and then it seemed that he too was overcome with criosity since her also listened in to the conversation on the other side of the door.

"So what is so important that it had to interupt me from my meeting?" the hokage asked. He was in the middle of a meeting with Iruka about the new Accademy stuednts.

"A ninja from an unknown village sir." said Kakashi "She infiltrated the village and was found on the training grounds."

"Well an unknown village eh?" said the Hokage "So what business do you have in Konoha?"

"Thats none of your concern." Zukawa snapped

'You must be a missing ninja though you don't seem to be in the bingo book." he flipped through the pages of a book he had in front of him. "You can't tell us one single thing?"

She gave him an evil glare but said nothing.

"Sworn to secrecy I guess." The Hokage sat there in silence for a few minutes pondering something and then said, "You may take her to the prison for now gentlemen. Later I will have her interrogated."

Zukawa immidately spun around kicking Gai and Kakashi away from her and mangaed to get a kunai toand qickly pick at the chains to set herself free.Kakashi and Gai ran to her but they were to slow because she threw flames from her hands knocking them back .

She didn't even use hand signs. Kakashi thought.

She ran to Iruka and held him down so he coudn't move and put a Kunai at his neck.

"Let me go or its the end for him!!"

* * *

**Hope you like it. Please reveiw. Later! XP**


	2. The Deal

Secrets of the Hidden

Chapter 2

The Deal

* * *

"Let me go or he dies!!" screamd Zukawa a beautiful shinobi.. Kakashi and his team had found her wandering one of the training grounds and dragged her to see the Hokage. She had no last name no village (that they knew of) and no patience it seemed. She held a kunai up against the neck of Iruka who was pinned to the floor and sweating to death afraid of what might happen. She glared at the old man with a look that said she was dead serious.

"Now now there is no need to get hasty." he said calmly. "We can work this out. All you have to do is give us some information."

"I acually rather enjoy seeing this one squirm." she said with a smirk "How about you talk and I'll listen while trying to keep myself from killing him?"

The third Hokage sat there for a few moments looking her over and pondering a few thoughts in his head. He was trying to find a way around the whole situation if that was even possible. After a few moments of silence she pressed the kunai a little harder upon Iruka's neck breaking the skin. Everyone became alarmed and the Hokage finally spoke.

"I have a proposition for you." he said his voice never faltering.

"I'm listening." she said.

"You will not go to prison." the Konoha shinobi tensed up after hearing that. How could they let this stranger free? She was dangerous! Zukawa on the other hand felt relieved but didn't let it show. "However." he continued "You will not be permitted to leave the village. You will be watched day and night by elite members of our villages ANBU." Now everyone was confused and shocked. Now what was he up to? Was he crazy? They could just imagine the havoc she could wreak on their peaceful village. Zukawa of course was the most shocked of anyone.

"And what do you expect me to do here?" she never once moved from her position on top of Iruka "Pick flowers? Take up Knitting?"

"Until I see fit you may leave but in the meantime you could be of great help training some of our younger ninja.." The look on her face was priceless. He could just read her mind 'What no way am I serving under these losers!' Yes that must be exactly what she was thinking. "So do we have a deal? It is better than prison."

Zukawa pondered this for a moment weighing her options. She could just give in and go to prison. No that wasn't an option they would use some lunatic to question her and that would _not _be good. She could just kill the pathetic loser and...go to jail...no. Maybe she could fight her way out of here and escape. Well thats no good because she would be abandoning her mission and that would be even worse than going to prison. It seemed as if staying here and working under the hidden leaf shinobi was the only answer.She removed her kunai from Iruka's neck and got off of him. And crossing her arms she said, "Fine."

"Good. I"m glad you see it my way." he nodded at his assistant who was writing everything down "Two ANBU are waiting outside and will take you to an assigned apartment. so you may-"

"Wait a second hold on." she interupted, "Can you at least tell me what exactly I'm going to be doing here? And for how long?"

"Oh um." the old man hesitated now unsure of what to tell her. He looked around the room praying for inspiration then he saw Kakashi standing in his usual lazy posture looking as if he were utterly uninterested. "You can help Kakashi out."

"What?" she said in an annoyed tone "You want me to work under this bum?"

"You could help him train his squad of Genin." said the hokage "He has quite a handful with those three."

She could not believe it. Not only did she have to train three snot nosed brats she had to train _his _snot nosed brats.. This day could not get any worse. She looked back at Kakahi and if looks could kill he would have been dead a thousand times over. She was outraged but worked hard to keep from losing it. The Hokage dismissed her and she glared at Kakashi as she waked by towards the door. When she opened it three young ninja's fell into the room from the hallway. All three scrambled to get up and were struggling for an excuse as to their actions.

"Oh um yeah we just uh tripped!" said a blonde headed boy "It was an accident really!"

"Kakashi-sensei I tried to stop him but he wouldn't listen to me!" said a young girl with long pink hair.

The third child just stood there crossing his arms and glaring at the other two. Zukawa figured that he was the type that was too good for anyone. Just the kind of ninja she hated._Oh great. _she thought. _boy is this going to be fun._ She gave them a deadly look and fear was evident on their faces as they quickly got out of her way. She walked down the hallway and noticed two ANBU standing there waiting for her. And after taking all of her weapons they escorted her to the apartemnt.

* * *

"Man, is she scary." said Naruto "Its to bad that she's gonna have to train with us." as soon as he said that he realized he shouldn't have 'I-I...umm..." 

"Naruto you idiot!" yelled Sakura as she hit her teammate in the head.

"Okay guy's cam down." said Kakashi "You can go home now. training is over."

"Great! Now who wants ramen?" said Naruto eyeing Sakura." Hey Sakura how 'bout a date?"

"No way! But what about you Sasuke? Just the two of us?" there were starts in her eye's

"Hn." was all Sasuke said before he left along with the rest of them.

The third Hokage sighed "They really do need all the help they can get." he said to himself.Everyone but Iruka had left his office.He came up the old man's desk a questioning look on his face. "What is it Iruka?" he asked

"Um...Sir." he started "I was just wondering...Why you are allowing her to stay in the village. Even if she is going to be watched don't you think it will be dangerous?"

"You are worrying about those three again aren't you? Iruka, you have no need to worry I know what I'm doing."

"I'm not just worried about them I'm worried about the village. The fact that we don't know anything about her makes this a delicate situation. She tried to kill me and we don't know what she is capable of. I just want to know why."

"Unfortunatly that is for me to know and you to find out."

* * *

Zukawa and the two ANBU (whose names were to remain a secret) made their way to the apartment buillding in silence save for Zukawa's low angry mumbling. The buildingwas old and worn but that was to be expected since it was in the older part of town. One of the ANBU gave the landlord the orders from the Hokage about Zukawa's stay there and he readily agreed. He brought the three of them to a room on the third floor then gave Zukawa the key and walked off. She unlocked the door and walked inside. 

The room was small but space was used well so that you weren't totally cramped. There was a bed with white sheets in the far right corner and on the opposite side was a small desk with a char and a lamp. In the right corner was a small kitchen area with a stove,oven,small refrigerator,counter top, and a table with two chairs. Opposite of the kitchen was a dusty old dresser that desperatly needed to be repainted. The door to the bathroom was on the right wall next to the bed and there was a large glass door with two other windows beside it that led to a tiny balcony that looked over the village.

Zukawa turned to her two escorts waiting for them to say something or give her special orders. They simply said that they would be watching and waiting outside and not to try anything sneaky.They also said that she was to be at training ground number three at eight o'clock the next morning. She didn't say anything in return just nodded and took her bag and put it on the bed while they left the room. She didn't bring much just a change of clothes,some food,a small towel,money,and a couple of weapons which were confinscated.

She walked out to the balcony to get a better view of her temporary home. It was a very nice village she had to admit. The people were peaceful and friendly and she had heard that their shinobi were some of the strongest in the world. She could see the Hokage's tower from were she stood and behind that carved on the mountain were four different faces. She had no clue who they could be but she guessed some men whom the people of this village considered hero's. She then decided that she might enjoy staying here just a little.It was better than sleeping on the cold wet ground keeping one eye open just in case someone tried to attack. Though she couldn't get too attached she had a job to do after all. And who know's this new change of plans could help her in her mission.

* * *

**Okay I hope you enjoyed! I know my chapters are short but I just don't have the mental capacity to write long ones it drives me nuts and takes me forever to write and then because of that its not very good. I'm sorry that it took me forever too I've just been really busy this summer. Please review (but no flames please I already know I'm not that great of a writer.) Later! XP**

**P.S. O h and I know my paragraphs are kina layed out funny its just that my computer was acting funny so sorry.**


	3. Weakness

Secrets of The Hidden

Chapter 3

Weakness

* * *

Zukawa rose early from a dreamless sleep. The sun was just starting to rise above the trees and it seemed to make them glow. The air was cool and the birds were up and about chirping to their hearts content. This was Zukawa's favorite time of day. The time when everything was quiet and she could enjoy the world in peace without anyone disturbing the beauty and silence with their chatter or busy work. 

After she cleaned herself up and got dressed Zukawa walked over to the small kitchen area of the apartment space that was temporarily hers. There was a little food in the cupboards and in the fridge. Her guess was that someone came in earlier and left the food items there for her use. She grabbed some fruit and poured some milk into a glass and then walked over to the small table and proceeded to enjoy her breakfast.

She was almost finished when she tensed up a little bit. She sensed movement on the other side of the door. She almost grabbed a kunai out of her utility pouch but then suddenly remembered the ANBU officers that were supposed to guard her, took away all of her weapons. _Heh__ As if I would try to escape._ She thought. _That would draw a little to__o__ much attention to __myself_ She stood up and started to clean up her mess. _All I have to do is get in__ do my job__ and get out._ She was wiping off the crumbs from the table. _But already I'm being watched. This is not good._

She heard more movement and then one of the officers lightly knocked on the door.

"Its open." She said.

Two ANBU members opened the door and walked inside the small living space.

"You left the door unlocked?" one of them asked.

"Well I wouldn't want you all to go to the trouble of having to pick the lock in case I got into trouble." Zukawa said with a sly smile.

"Okay well then are you ready to go? We were instructed to take you to the training grounds at six o'clock."

"Yes I'm ready." She replied. "Now lets go." She led the way out of the building.

* * *

All three members of team seven were present at training ground three at six o'clock sharp. Naruto was the last to arrive naturally. He still had a sleepy look on his face and was mumbling random things about ramen as he approached Sasuke and Sakura. 

"Aaaahhh….Good morning…Sakura." He was having trouble putting together complete sentences.

"Mmhmm…" Sakura mumbled.

Long moments passed as they all waited for their lazy sensei and this stranger to show up so they could start training. Sasuke stared blankly at the forest while Sakura stared longingly at him. Naruto was teetering back and fourth on his feet and almost fell a few times. Nobody said anything. All there was was the pleasant chirping of the birds and the whistle of the wind.

Just then all three heard footsteps steadily approaching them. Naruto and Sakura snapped out of their stupor and Sasuke tensed up, not knowing what to expect. Soon three figures came into view and as the three came closer they could see that there were two ANBU officers and one beautiful woman.

The group walked up to the three genin and the woman was the first to speak.

"Well you three are here but where is your sensei?" she asked giving them a cold stare

"He's known for being late." Answered Sasuke ,returning her gaze with coldness of his own.

"Great." The woman said under her breath.

More long moments passed and there was more silence. Naruto would occasionally look back and fourth at the ANBU members and the scary woman who was to help with their training. It was like he was scared to say anything for fear of what they might do. Normally he would say whatever he wanted without fear of the concequences.

After minutes that seemed like hours Kakashi at last showed up.

"FINALLY!!!" both Naruto and Sakura yelled in unison. "YOU'RE LATE!!!"

Kakashi very casually looked at his watch "By only…Four minutes." They all gave him blank stares. "Not nearly as late as usual."

Sakura and Naruto were silent after that. Then Kakashi turned to face the two ANBU.

"So will you be joining us for our training?" he asked casually.

"No for now she is your responsibility." Replied one of the officers "But rest assured that we will be near by if she gets out of hand."

"Understood."

"I'm not a dog you know." Zukawa suddenly said. "I don't have to be treated like some animal that could break loose." She glared at her two guards. All they did was simply sigh and disappear to some unknown place. And it was silent once again.

"So sensei what do you have planned for us today?" Said Naruto, breaking the silence.

"Well actually I thought that our guest would lead your training today."

Naruto's face fell and he turned to look at the woman who scared the heck out of him. She was looking of into the forest but then turned to match his stare. A small, sly smile crossed her lips and a somewhat mischevious gleam could be seen in her lavender eye's.

"Well that's just code for 'I'm too lazy to do it myself.'" She said "But I'm up for a challenge." She peered Sasuke's way now.

"Great so were in agreement then." Kakashi said. He rubbed the back of his head and he smiled a smile that could not be seen because of his mask. "So then I guess you better meet everyone." He turned to face the first of his students "Now this pink haired one is Sakura Haruno. She is the most intelligent of the group. Then we have the number one loudmouth ninja Naruto Uzumaki. "

Naruto then opened his mouth to say something but was stopped when Sakura covered his mouth and whispered something threatening in his ear.

"I'm not sure if he has any really special talents but he…well...I guess you will see soon enough." Kakashi continued in a quiet voice. "And then last we have Sasuke Uchiha, the only survivor of his clan." Kakashi peered in Sasuke's direction to see him in the same bored stance as always. "I'm actually quite proud of him. Not too long ago he was finally able to activate his sharingan. It's an eye technique that-"

"I know what it does." Zukawa cut him off. "So we have an Uchiha eh? This is going to be very interesting."

After all introductions were complete she looked each of them in the eye. None of them moved, blinked, or even breathed.

"You will refer to me as Zukawa-sensei." She finally said. "Anyone who does so otherwise will be punished."

Naruto cringed at her words.

"You will follow my instructions with no questions asked. If you fail to complete a task that I have asked of you, you will also be punished."

Silence and blank stares followed her words.

"Hey lady…I mean Zukawa-sensei." Naruto started "We aren't little-"

Zukawa cut off the blonde ninja with yet another cold stare and he froze.

"O-okay okay…" he said.

Zukawa let out a short sigh before continuing. "Because today is our first day together I would like to test your strength and see exactly what I'm working with." She pointed towards the forest. "Move over there."

Sasuke led the group into a little meadow in the middle of the tree's. The three genin and Kakashi awaited more instructions.

"So what are we going to do Sensei?" Sakura asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Play Hide and seek." Replied Zukawa.

"WHAT?!" Naruto yelled "SENSEI WE ARENT LITTLE KIDS! WHT ARE WE PLAYING THESE STUPID GAMES FOR?!"

"For someone who considers himself a grown up ninja your behavior says differently." her words were cold and final. No one dared question her and Naruto shut his mouth immediately. "This is a part of your training. Kakashi and I will both hide in the forest and your job is to find us. It's that simple."

"Wait a second." Sasuke said. "All we have to do is find you? There has to be a catch or it would be too easy."

"Yeah Sasuke's right!" Sakura chimed in "What's the catch?"

"Well I guess it would be too easy. I mean after all you _are _genin." Zukawa said in sarcasm. "If you want to make it more difficult then you have to find us _and_ try to at least put a scratch on us."

"Which would mean that we have to fight?" Sasuke said. Clearly he thought that this would be easy.

"Yes it would."

"Yes! This is gonna be fun!" Naruto cheered.

* * *

"Okay then." Zukawa turned to Kakashi. "Lets go." And with that both sensei's disappeared and were now running through the tree's. "Do not go easy on them." She said once she was sure no one would hear them. "But be sure not to kill them." 

"Yes I understand." Kakashi replied.

Several minutes later both Kakashi and Zukawa were very well hidden. All they could do now was wait to be found and fight if they had too.

As Kakashi was sitting at the top of a very large tree he thought over the current situation. He was surprised by the harshness of Zukawa's words not only to his students but also to himself. "_Don't go easy on them. But be sure not to kill them."_ What had she meant by that? Of course he would never kill his own subordinates. What kind of village did she live in anyway? He now feared the kind of things that she was planning. But now was not the right place to ponder on such thoughts because someone was coming.

From atop the tree Kakashi could clearly see the pink haired figure of Sakura. She stopped right where she was and looked around her. An unsure look was present on her face. It was like she had no clue what to do. She jumped up into the same tree that Kakashi was positioned in.Then she placed herself on a large branch and started scanning the area.

She turned around to face the opposite direction. She still had the same look on her face as she looked all around her for any race of the two senseis. She decided to jump up to a higher spot in the tree to get a better view. "Ugh where the heck are they?" she whispered to herself." Kakashi was watching her every move. She was standing on a branch not so far from his. And from where she stood it was possible that he could be found even if he was using an illusionary technique. After all she was a genjutsu type and was smart enough to tell if she was being tricked with such a technique.

Just then they heard Naruto yelling. Obviously he had found Zukawa.

Once Sakura heard Naruto's yelling she turned around quickly and was about to run in the direction of the sound. But then she seemed to notice something. _Crap I've been found_Thought Kakashi. Sakura stared more intently in Kakashi's direction while she crept slowly up the tree. Then her face was serious and she instantly threw a Kunai at her sensei.

Kakashi dodged her attack and threw a few kunai's of his own revealing where he was hidden. She jumped out of his way and grabbed a few shuriken but had no chance to throw them. Kakashi had run up to her and kicked at her legs causing her to loose balance and fall out of the tree.

Sakura did manage to land on her feet but was barely able to contemplate what to do next, her sensei was just too fast. He threw more kunai at her and ran up to her attempting a punch but she was able to dodge it. She held a single kunai in her hands and clutched it harder and harder with each passing second as if it would save her.

But she could not just dodge forever. Eventually Kakashi landed a punch square in the chest causing her to fall to the ground with a thud and she yelped in pain.

While the silver haired shinobi towered over his female student a loud cry came from behind him.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled. "Don't worry I'll save you!"

Naruto ran straight forward at his sensei. He pulled out a kunai and it seemed like he was actually going to attempt a full frontal attack. He let out a loud battle cry as Kakashi turned around to block his opponent. Once Naruto got close enough to actually throw a punch he suddenly jumped over Kakashi's head trying to land on the other side in front of Sakura. But the blonde ninja's attempts were futile because as soon as Naruto was overhead all Kakashi had to do was stretch his arm up and punch his student right in the stomach. Naruto gasped desperately for air as he fell solidly to the ground.

"Kakashi- sensei!" Sakura screamed "Why are you attacking us so hard?!" She crawled over to where Naruto lay. Even after taking such a hard punch he could still manage to sit up. "You could have seriously injured him!"

"I'm just following orders." Was his reply

Just then Sasuke came flying through the tree's. It seemed like he had also been hit pretty hard. But he hadn't just been punched. It looked like he had also been burned. His body crashed to the ground and dust flew everywhere. Not even a second later Zukawa came striding in towards them.

Sakura looked horrified at the battered form of her beloved Sasuke. She immediately left Naruto's side and went over to Sasuke to try to help him up. His clothes were singed and there was a large hole in the middle of his shirt that revealed a terrible burn scar.

"Zukawa-sensei!" she screamed "What have you done to Sasuke!" Kakashi noticed that tears were forming in the kunochi's eye's.

"Something he could have prevented if he were a better ninja." Zukawa replied.

Naruto was standing up now. And he had his special determined look plastered all over his face. Then he preformed several hand signs and in a puff of smoke there were many shadow clones of him-self standing behind him, each wielding kunai in their hands.

"Alright let's go!" Naruto yelled and all of his clones charged right at Zukawa.

The red head didn't even flinch when she saw all of the Naruto's charging after her. But once they got close enough she raised her leg up and it looked as if fire was emitting from it. In one fluid motion she did a graceful spin kick that in mere moments destroyed all of Naruto's clones.

Naruto stood there stunned and Kakashi couldn't believe it either. What kind of technique was that anyway? She didn't even use any hand sign's.

Now Sasuke was standing with Sakura right beside him. She was trying to convince him that it would be best if he lay down because of his injuries. But of course the proud Uchiha would not listen. Kakashi saw it in his student's eye's that all he wanted was to defeat the woman who had the nerve who insult his abilities as a ninja.

"Let me at her." Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

Under any normal circumstance Kakashi would be reading his book. But he was given instructions to keep an eye on the mysterious kunochi. So far she hadn't done anything that would cause alarm. After all a fight like this would still be considered training, very harsh training but training none the less. He told himself that if the fight went too far then he would have to intervene. But he would wait for now. Besides, this was getting interesting.

"If you want to fight, then come." Zukawa said emotionlessly. She jumped up into one of the trees behind her and motioned for Sasuke to make the first move.

The Uchiha survivor preformed a few hand seals and filled his chest full of air. In an instant he released a giant fireball from his mouth and set the tree completely on fire.It was several minutes before the fire had died off and once the smoke had cleared he saw that his opponent had dodged his attack.

"Nice try." A voice said from behind him. Zukawa did not seem tobe slightly burned by his grand fireball attack and she was about to give an attack of her own. Sakura quickly jumped out of the way as Zukawa threw at him several balls of fire that formed in the palm of her hand. He was unable to dodge because they were incredibly fast. He got burned once again but he would refuse defeat. He got up again only to be met by a stone hard punch from his attacker. After this he could take no more as he fell to the ground unable to get up.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled. She started to run to her crush's side but was stopped by Zukawa's outstretched arm.

"You can't help him." She said. "What could you do but simply hold his hand while he writhes in pain? You're too weak." Her face was cold and her voice void of any emotion. "Your all weak." She walked over to Sasuke and kicked his side. "Especially, you. And you're supposed to be an Uchiha."

"Hey sensei!" naruto yelled. "Why do you have to be so harsh!?"

His words seemed to set something off in Zukawa's demeanor because she now looked extremely angry. Her fists started to clench and her eye's were wide with rage. Kakashi stepped forward a bit to be cautious. This is what he had feared would happen.

"Harsh?" Zukawa said out loud. "You think I'm…_harsh_?" She slowly rose up her right arm and started to take of the long brown glove that she wore. "I'll show you harsh!!"

* * *

**A/N: YYAAAAAYYY!! I finally have chapter 3 out! Sorry it took so long! Hopefully that wont happen again but no promises. I'm the type of person who has to be inspired to write or else the story is no good. I hope you enjoyed and I apologize for any grammar/spelling mistakes if there are any. I would love some feeback so if you would please reveiw. My only worry for this chapter is that Kakashi is out of charicter because if he is then tell me and I will definatly fix it in coming chapters! Also I will put links to pictures of Zukawa (or what I think she looks like) up on my profile if you want to see. Thank you so much for reading! Later! XP**


	4. The Uchiha vs The New Sensei

Secrets of the Hidden

Chapter 4

The Uchiha vs. The new Sensei

* * *

Zukawa pulled he gloves off of each hand in a slow sleek motion and as soon as the pieces of brown cloth had been removed from her hands she held them up high so that all could see.

Sakura gasped in horror while Naruto and Sasuke simply stared wide eyed.

Hundreds of scars crisscrossed up and down her forearms and hands. Burn marks made her skin look dark and calloused It almost looked as if all of her skin had been totally peeled off. They could see her veins snaking up and down her arms. It was truly a horrific sight to see even for an experienced shinobi.

"Wha-What happened?" Naruto finally asked.

All Sasuke could do was stare.

"Though some of these scars come from past fighting experiences, in my village this is the punishment for disobedience, weakness, and failure."

"Weakness." Naruto whispered.

"Nothing is tolerated in my village. You fail a mission then you are punished ,you disobey orders then you are punished and if you do not simply reach the expectations in strength by your leader or captain...then you are also punished."

Again all that Sasuke could do was stare, and Zukawa noticed this.

"Whats the matter Uchiha? Are you scared or something?" she smirked a bit. "This special form of punishment has been used on me several times because of foolish things I've done in the past. My hands and arms have been cut, broken, and burned several times as well. You are very lucky.because I'm going way easy on you." she gave him a deathly glare."Weakling."

Anger appeared an Sasuke's face, His fists clenched and his eye's turned the dangerous sharingan red. He glared right ack up at her. "I am not weak." he stated sternly.

"Yes you are." The woman stated bluntly.

"I am not weak!" The Uchiha avenger lunged at her with a kunai in hand

Zukawa didn't even move an inch when she saw the boy attacking her. Once he was close enough she grabbed onto his arm with such a force that it nearly broke it and brought him to a halt. When he raised his other hand with a kunai she flicked it out of his grasp and instantly gave a frightening blow to his stomach. But before he could fall to the ground she held him up by his arms and spoke to him with her face inches from his, "Your anger makes you blind which makes you stupid. And stupidity is the lowest form of weakness.", then she dropped him.

Sasuke crumpled to the ground with a gasp. Sakura's face was painted all over with fear and worry but she stood as still as stone.

"Is there anyone else who would like to say something?" Zukawa said while she stepped away from the boy.

Naruto clenched his fists and gritted his teeth obviously trying to restrain himself from doing something idiotic.

"No? Fine then I guess we can continue." she looked at Sasuke ,who was struggling to stand up, and then at Kakashi. "I'm actually surprised that I'm not already in handcuffs." a small twisted smile appeared on her face. " I guess that means I'm still within the law."

"Wait." Sasuke said, grabbing onto her leg. His voice was weak though he fought to make it sound more confident. "I'm not done with you yet!"

Zukawa merely glared at him. "Boy, if you want to keep that arm of yours you'll let go."

Sasuke paused for two seconds but then gave in and let go.

"Alright alright." Kakashi finally said. "I guess I should intervene while we are all still not seriously injured."

"Hn." said Zukawa

"I've already summoned your ANBU guards to come and get you. Sakura, Naruto and I will take Sasuke to the hospital just to make sure everything is okay."

As if on que the rustling of leaves was heard and the four men who escorted Zukawa to the training ground appread in the tree's.

"Allright then its time for you to go." one of them said.

Zukawa merely sighed and said, "If I must." the she turned to the three genin "Rest up and prepare yourselves for tommorrow." and with that they were gone.

* * *

Sakura waited for Zukawa to leave before she said anything, "Kakashi-sensei!" she yelled through tear stained eye's, "Why did yo let that woman hurt Sasuke-kun so badly!?" she than ran over to the prodigy to make sure he was really okay. Her hand brushed away the hair from his face. But her hand was pushed away when Sasuke found the strength to sit up right. 

"Because I think it was a very important lesson you all need to learn." Kakashi crouched down next to Sasuke to pick him up.

"I can walk, Sensei." Sasuke said stubbornly

"If you insist but feel free to lean on me if you need support."

"But why? What lesson?"

Their teacher sighed and started to walk on to the hospital. "Zukawa-san understands what it takes and what it means to be a true shinobi. She knows how much training and discipline it takes to become the best and the strongest. In the training I have been giving you I have been going very easy on you compared to what the real world is like." He reflected on their very first days as a team. the bell test seemed difficult enough for a bunch of fresh academy students. But though they reached their goal in the end, he knew that it would be a while before they could even consider doing even C rank missions. That was why he felt so terrible about what happened with Zabuza in the land of the mist.It was a mistake that could have claimed their lives if he had not handled it properly. This particular lesson, he thought, seemed very difficult for him to teach. "I'm sorry for what happened to Sasuke but I think this experience will be eye opeining for you."

"Hmm." Sakura didn't seem to be able to find any more words to say though Kakashi could plainly see the anger and frustration still on her face As well as Sasuke's.

"Oh yeah, well if thats what it akes to become one of the best shinobi then bring it on!" Naruto exlaimed suddenly. His fox like face contorted into determination. His exclamation was somewhat startling since he had been silent through the whole situation. But nonetheless he was brimming with excitement and confidence.

All the sensei could do was smile at his loud mouthed student. "Just prepare yourselves. After today I doubt her training will be any easier."

* * *

It was late once Kakashi finally got out of the Hokage's office. He had immediately rushed there after his visit to the hospital to report the events of the day to the Sandiame. For some reason it had taken much longer than expected. For one thing The old Hokage wanted all of the meetings concerning the mysterious rouge ninja to be recorded for future reference and it took a while to find a credible scribe to do the job Then for some reason the scribe just couldn't write fast enough so Kakashi would have to talk slower in order for the man to write everything down perfectly. And then of course there was the never ending paperwork that must be done. 

Needless to say Kakashi was exausted and he wanted nothing more than to retire to his apartment and go to bed. He leaped from rooftop to rooftop with incredible speed so that he could reach his warm bed that much sooner.

Racing across the village through the cool night air Kakashi caught a glimpse of a small whisp of red hair that blew freely in the slight breeze. He brought himself to a halt and was slightly alarmed to see the subject of his nights frustration.

Zukawa was perched silently on the top of the apartment complex in which she was staying. Her back faced him and her eye's seemed keenly fixed upon the stone faces carved into the mountain. Her knee's were drawn up to her chest with her hands resting lightly atop them and her hair was still drawn out of her face and fixed in a high pony tail.

He approached her slowly and quietly and in a way almost afraid of disturbing her. His gaze followed hers to the faces of the Hokage's. He then looked at her face noticing that it looked softer and quieter than he was used too seeing. She seemed mesmerized by the stone figures looking upon the village.

"What are you doing up here?" she said nearly surprising him by breaking their silence.

"I suppose I should ask you that very same question." was his reply, "Aren't you supposed to be under watch?"

"Those men are pitiful excuses for ANBU. It took nothing to put them in a genjustsu." she never looked away from the mountain.

"All of that just to sit on top of a roof?"

"The air in there is suppressive ." she gave a slight sigh, "But don't worry they should be able to get out of it in a little while. I only planned to get a little bit of fresh air. Its not like I'm running away."

A smirk appeared under the man's mask, "Well why wouldn't you? I mean according to you none of our ANBU are worthy of their title. It should be an easy escape for you."

At this she smirked along with him. "True, but I'm sure that you have much more skilled shinobi that could stand a fighting chance And I'd rather not waste the energy when I could get out of here in a weeks time if I'm good."

"Hmmm, this is true." The translation, he thought, she had a job to do and she had to stick around long enough to do it.

Only silence passed through them in the next few moments.

"So...Who are these people anyways." she nodded towards the stone faces.

"Ah, those are the four Hokage's. From left to right you have The First,Second, Third (our current Hokage), And the Fourth."

"Hmm. I guess I should have known." She sat up a little straighter, "The fourth one...He's the famous man who sealed the Kyuubi?"

"That is correct. So you have done your research."

She turned her head to glare at him, "You underestimate my knowledge of this village?" she turned back to the mountain, "That day was a very important day in history. To seal away the worlds most powerful demon into the body of an infant is monumental. Though it did come with a price. You lost your greatest Hokage...And gained a terrible threat."

"Very true." he said with a sigh, "That threats name is Uzumaki Naruto."

She didn't seem fazed by this revelation at all. "I'm not really surprised. His chakra level was incredibly huge." she smiled for a moment "Plus he's got that foxy kind of look on his face. I can only imagine what kind of power will come of him. Plus his drive in very resolute which should alone take him far in the shinobi world."

"Yes, I agree. I have no doubt about him becoming a leading shinobi in this village. And his drive to become strong is the result of his treatment when he was younger and also of his rivalry with Sasuke."

"Ah, Uchiha Sasuke. The beloved tragic prince of the Uchiha clan," a devilish smile spread across her face. "If there was ever one you should watch out for it is that Uchiha."

"Yes, I know."

"Though his resolve and drive is just as strong as Naruto's it will eventually drive him over the edge. I can see it now...In his feeble little mind he will never be strong enough to defeat the man who slaughtered his entire family and when his other rivals become stronger he will become angrier withim himself and his desires will grow darker as he pursues power from the most dangerous places..."

"Well I'm here to make sure that doesn't happen."

She turned to him again, "Oh, I would love to see you try." She started to twirl a strand of her hair around her fingers,"And that Sakura girl is as much a fool as he is. If she continues this way she could become the shame of your villages Kunochi...No, all Kunochi" Then she got up turned around and started to leave.

"You know its rude to just walk off during a conversation."

"But they're waking up. And I don't want to get into anymore trouble."

"I see.Well then I guess I will see you tomorrow morning."

"Yeah I guess." And she was gone.

The whole night Kakashi could not get Zukawa and what she said about his students out of his mind.

* * *

**Hey thanks for reading! I'm sorry it took so long for me to write this one,Its just been crazy with family issues and stuff but its out so I'm happy. I know this is definitely NOT my best work but I need and editor or something because after i'm done writing I hate checking all the spelling and punctuation and then sometimes i rewrite whole sections and paragraphs because I don't think it sounds right or its OOC or stuff like that. I guess I just need an outside opinion before I publish. Ah well I'll figure it out and I promise the next chapter will be WAY BETER. Again thanks for reading and reviews are very very much appreciated!!!!**


	5. Patience

Secrets of the Hidden

Chapter 5

Patience

* * *

The team all met at dawn the next day. And once again Kakashi was very late. Zukawa never bothered to wait form him though. She started their training without him while her four ANBU escorts stood silently in the background. The fiery red haired woman already knew that the three genin needed allot of improvement but she didn't know exactly how much improvement until the day before. She really did have her work cut out for her.

Today she thought that they would start with stealth and hiding skills since none of them were too subtle during the exsorsize from the day before.

"Hey Lad-Uh I mean Zukawa-sensei, are these the right hand sign's?" Asked Naruto. Zukawa was trying to teach a special cloaking genjutsu and as usual Naruto was the one that was struggling the most.

"No you idiot!" Sakura yelled, "That's all wrong it's supposed to go like this." she tried to demonstrate to correct hand motions but Naruto still didn't seem to get it.

"Hey Sakura, no! Your going to fast! Do it slower, slower!"

"Well its not my fault that you have a brain the size of a walnut!" The vein in her head was pulsating.

"Your all a bunch of baka's" Sasuke muttered under his breath."

Zukawa sighed. They were getting nowhere. They had been doing this for almost an hour and still no progress. And on top of all that Their arguing was giving her a splitting headache.

"All right that's enough!" she said loud and firm. "Stop it all of you!" She stared them down until she had their undivided attention. "Obviously we have made absolutely zero progress and that is definitely NOT OKAY." she started to pace slightly, she had no clue what to do with these three.

And then as if on cue the extremely late Kakashi appeared in front of them all.

"Yo." he made a little wave.

"Oh so you decided to join us did you?" said a clearly frustrated Zukawa.

"Well yes you see I-"

"You don't get an excuse this time!" she silenced him. "Instead you get to watch your genin try and fail at perfecting one of the simplest justu's ever taught." she rubbed her temples thoroughly. Behind her stood three infuriated students. Apparently they were a bit offended by her remark.

"Hn. Are they really that bad?"

She stared at him with a look that said "Are you kidding me?"

"Ah, okay then." The team's leader stood up straight and walked a little ways towards his students. "Naruto I'm assuming that your having the most trouble."

The blonde boy nodded.

"And Sakura I'm sure that you have already figured out how to complete the technique, but held back because you didn't want to embarrass Sasuke by being the first one to get it."

The pink haired girl blushed and looked at Sasuke and then down at her feet. She too nodded.

"Then you Sasuke I'm sure that you almost have it." the sensei paused for a second and looked at his young students, "So why don't you and Sakura try the technique as to give Naruto an example to follow."

Kakashi's students only stared at him for a moment and then completed the necessary hand seals for the technique. They stood there in silence with their eye's closed so that they could better concentrate on their chakra control and when it seemed that they both thought they had it their eye's opened and demonstrated the jutsu. They both seemed to have disappeared or completely blended in with their surroundings. The only thing that gave away their position was their shadows.

Zukawa watched with raised eye brows. They actually did it. I took four hours allot of yelling and later a calm spirited sensei to finally get it right but at last they did it. Though she could hardly bear to admit it to herself she was a bit upset. Sakura and Sasuke's successful completion of the technique was not of her doing but of Kakashi's. Was this jealousy? she thought. Or maybe just frustration from the fact that her methods of instruction weren't exactly all they were cracked up to be.

"Alright then very good you two. Keep practicing where you are." Kakashi said. He nodded towards Naruto, "Alright then, now its your turn."

"Right!" Naruto said with determination. He put his hands together in the correct seals and stood still with his eye's closed.

"Okay, now concentrate." his sensei said. "Try your hardest to spread an even amount of chakra to every part of your body."

Zukawa could feel the strong chakra flowing from the young boy. She had noticed earlier that he did have allot of trouble controlling it. What she couldn't figure out was whether that was because of his lack of skill or because of the wild nature of the kyuubi's chakra. Maybe it was a mixture of both.

"Good." Kakashi said, "Remember that this is a cloaking jutsu so you must remember your surroundings very well and try hard not to let up on your chakra or enemies will be able to see you."

Naruto looked as if he was concentrating even harder now. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his hands were clenched very hard in a seal. Then he tried the technique. For a second it looked like he was sort of fading in and out of reality. Then for another second or two you couldn't see him at all.

Sadly it only lasted for those two seconds.

As soon as Naruto knew that he could be seen he lost his temper. Swears were flying everywhere and he immediately started to try again.

"Geez Naruto you don't have to get so mad if you don't get it perfect right away." Sakura scolded.

Naruto barely glanced at the girl and then muttered something that sounded like "I wont lose to any of you."

"Hey. you idiot! Don't act as if I'm not here!" yelled the pink headed girl. "And stop trying to act all cool!"

"Sakura." Said Zukawa in a quiet yet stern voice, "Let him practice in peace."

"I agree." said Kakashi, "We need to leave him alone for a while so he can train on his own. Now that he knows the general idea of how it works he can figure it out for himself."

"Fine. In that case I'm leaving." Sasuke said with his back turned to them. He was already on his way out.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but then took it back and turned to leave with Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!" and she ran off.

Naruto had already tried and failed the justsu again by this time.

"Are you going to be okay doing this by yourself or would you like for one of us to stay and supervise?" asked Kakashi.

He did his hand seals again.

"Don't worry I'm fine." and that seemed to be the only response they would get for now.

"Alright then." Kakashi then turned to Zukawa, "Since you special escorts aren't here I'll be the one to walk you home."

"Fine." she said and walked on past him.

The two Jounin walked in silence most of the way. There was the occasional "yes or no" question but other than that the only sound that could be heard was their walking.

Zukawa looked up at the sky. It was only noon and she was already done with the first days training? It seemed strange to her. She was used to working herself from sun up to sun down. Naruto would be the only one of them working hard today. She found herself wondering how he was doing with that jutsu. The technique really wasn't that hard...at least for someone who was fairly good at chakra control, which obviously he wasn't.

"Thank you...for earlier." Zukawa said. when they were almost to their destination.

"What do you mean?" asked Kakashi who, for one, was not reading his book.

"Obviously the training didn't go so well with me today. Then you came along and it went almost perfect. I just wanted to thank you...for your help that is." This felt a little strange to her. Thanks you's were not exactly something she did regularly, but she felt that she owed it to him. He was the one that got the job done so to her he deserved praise. "Your students, they respond to you well."

"I guess. It just takes someone that understands them a little bit I suppose." a short pause, "And your welcome." she smiled a bit under his mask.

Her entourage stood waiting for her in front of the apartment building entrance. She walked up to them without a word but when she turned around to say a quick goodbye to Kakashi he was gone.

"Just don't be late." she mumbled to herself.

"Alright, time to go upstairs." said one masked man.

"I know the drill." She took one last look at the sky before entering the building. Still only noon and she was to be locked in that room the rest of the day. What on earth was she gong to do with herself?

The day seemed even more boring once she got up to her room. In just a few hours the whole place seemed like it had been covered in two inches of dust. Or has that always been there? she asked herself. The curtains were closed making it look all the more gloomy. She walked over to the fridge to see if there was something to eat.

"Nothing?" She said out loud. They were just going to leave her in here with nothing?

Maybe she could go grocery shopping. The thought made her lighten up a bit. Maybe she could actually get out of this hell hole for at least a little while!

No such luck.

"You mean I can't even go if you guys are with me?" she had asked the lead guard politely if she could just go and get a couple of things. "All there is a half gallon of sour milk, a few pieces of bread and some smelly cheese. You should know that a shinobi needs more than that! I need some substance!"

"If you like I'll send someone to go and get you a meal and tomorrow while you are at training we will get you some groceries."

She sighed, "Fine." Then she retreated to her bed. Suddenly she wasn't too hungry anymore.

While she stared up at the ceiling her mind wandered again to Naruto. He was probably still in that field practicing the jutsu and he would probably be there until it got dark. He would get tired and might run out of chakra and collapse right there onto the ground. What if he overdid it? What if he tried so hard that the Kyuubi's chakra came out? Would it be her fault? That's when she shot up straight.

She could help him. She thought. There was something that she and only she could teach him and because of that she was going back to the training grounds. The guards would be no problem again. Sure she couldn't try the same trick on them again, they were fast learners. But she had more than one trick up her sleeve.

Concentration. Attempt. Failure. Concentration. Attempt. Failure. This is the pattern in which Naruto found himself as he continued to practice the cloaking technique. He tried it once again. He closed his eye's and concentrated hard on spreading this chakra evenly throughout his body. Then once he thought he had it down he attempted to execute the jutsu. But unfortunately his efforts ended in failure once again.

He swore once and then started again.

In the middle of him spreading his chakra he heard footsteps behind him. When he turned around he was extremely shocked to find that Zukawa stood silently in front of him.

"Aahhhh!! Zu-Zu-Zu-Zu-Zukawa-sensei!!" He back several feet away from the red headed woman with beads of sweat rolling down his shocked face. "What the heck are you doing!!"

"I'm here to train you of course." she responded.

"Eh?" his shock initially faded and was replaced with pure confusion.

"You can't really be _that _dense, could you?"

"What! Oh, I swear I'll-"

"You should know that in the time that you've spent arguing with me you could have nearly completed the technique."

Naruto only clenched his fists in anger but stayed silent.

"Alright." She didn't really seem to now where to start. "This cloaking jutsu, though it is simple does not always come easy so some people. You are the perfect example. It is very easy to learn for people who excel in chakra control. I should have known that you were not particularly skilled in this area."

Naruto remained silent but did seem to be listening.

"I should have known earlier that this would be harder for you because of your lack of skill and also because of..." She stopped her speech for a moment.

"Because of what?" he grew a little impatient.

"Because of the fact that the Kyuubi lives inside of you."

Naruto's eye's widened and his arms dropped to his sides. "H-How do you know that!?" He yelled.

"I have sources." she said quietly as she looked away from him.

The blonde headed boy crossed his arms across his chest again and turned away from his temporary sensei. "Yeah, and what about it?"

This time she looked right at him, even if he didn't return her gaze. "I know that you are probably scared of using so much chakra because of the beast inside of you. I know that you're afraid it will come out." her tone was serious.

He still looked away from her. "And how do you know that?"

A long pause.

"Because I'm just like you."

"...What do you mean...?" Naruto was facing her now.

"I mean I am exactly like you. There is a demon living inside of me."

Naruto seemed lost for words. Awe was the only way to describe his face.

"I...I don't beleive you..."

"Why not? You've seen proof. The only way I can ever use fire techniques the way I do is because of the Nibi. I don't have to use hand seals and I don't waste hardly any chakra."

"H-how?"

This is where Zukawa looked to be the one without words. How could she explain something she couldn't understand? "Its all bery cloudy. 'its a gift' is what they always told me. They said that it chose me when I was very young. But I don't remember anything from when I was that little. I don't remember anything before I came to my village."

"Your really weird."

"Do you want me to help you or not?" She stood firm with her arms crossed over her chest.

Naruto was hesitant. He looked like he really didn't want Zukawa to be the one to train him but on the other hand he desperately needed some inside tips about the demons chakra and how to master the technique. He gave a sigh and turned to face the woman taunting him.

"Fine then. Show me how to do this stupid thing."

Zukawa smirks and stepped towards him. "Okay."

* * *

**Once again I will apologize for making everyone wait so long. I have no excuse but I do have brownies. Feedback would be amazing. I need to know what you think and what I need to work on and such. I may be in need of an editor. It would be really great to have someone tell me if someone is in charicter and help me tweak parts here and there make sure it flows properly and such. So if your interested let me know! Hope you enjoyed and if not...well go find something else to read! Later XP**


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